Japan provides $471 million to World Bank to rebuild Ukraine
The Government of Japan has announced a contribution of $471 million to the Ukraine Recovery, Rehabilitation and Transformation Trust Fund (URTF).
This was reported by the press service of the World Bank, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to Ukrinform.
The funds are part of a $5.5 billion commitment Japan made in February to help rebuild destroyed infrastructure and support the people of Ukraine in their recovery.
"Japan continues to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. We are working closely with the World Bank in providing support to Ukraine. We expect that our contributions will be effectively utilized to meet the most urgent needs to repair critical infrastructure. We look forward to further deepening our cooperation with the World Bank Group," said Kentaro Ogata, Japan's Deputy Minister of Finance for International Affairs.
It is specified that this grant contribution more than doubles the URTF funds. Now the total amount of grant resources for urgent repairs of energy infrastructure, roads, bridges, housing, schools and hospitals in Ukraine is more than $850 million.
URTF is currently supporting the Energy Recovery and Winterization Project, the Restoration of Essential Logistics Infrastructure and Network Connectivity (RELINC) Project, and the Health and Emergency Assistance for Life (HEAL) Project.
The URTF is a multi-donor fund established in December 2022. It supports the World Bank's emergency operations in Ukraine in key sectors, including transportation, health, and energy. These projects reflect the country's emergency assistance needs as outlined in the updated Rapid Damage and Recovery Needs Assessment (RDNA).
The projects are designed to be adaptable to developments on the ground, while ensuring rapid impact and rapid disbursement of funds.
The URTF is strategically guided by a Partnership Board. The Board is co-chaired by the World Bank Group and the Government of Ukraine and is composed of development partners. The URTF participants are Austria, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. The Program Management Team is responsible for the day-to-day management of URTF funds.
